


trouble

by Krilymcc (KristiLynn)



Category: Castle, Warehouse 13
Genre: Crossover, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-22
Updated: 2011-12-22
Packaged: 2017-10-27 18:09:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/298582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KristiLynn/pseuds/Krilymcc
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While investigating a case Castle meets a very interesting woman with a very interesting past.</p>
            </blockquote>





	trouble

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shannyfish](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shannyfish/gifts).



> Written for the xover-exchange over on LJ.

Castle and Beckett stood side by side staring at the suspect through the two-way mirror. Three days ago an antiques dealer was stabbed to death outside of his midtown office and this was the first suspect that they had brought in.

“You know she’s not the one who did it right?” Castle asked.

Beckett rolled her eyes. She didn’t want to ask the question but she did anyway, “How do you know?”

“Well for starters it’s never the first suspect we bring in. Except for those times when it is. But also, she’s too short.”

Beckett scoffed, “She’s too short or she’s too pretty?”

“Detective Beckett!” Castle exclaimed, “Are you suggesting that I’m letting her good looks interfere with the investigation?”

“I’m suggesting you’re letting the fact that you want to get in her pants interfere with the investigation.”

“I would never,” Castle feigned insult.

“Let’s just get this over with.”

Beckett and Castle entered the interrogation room and took a seat across from the suspect.

“Ms. Wells…” Beckett began.

“Helena. Please call me Helena.”

“Ok Helena.” Castle smiled at her and Beckett just frowned.

“Ms. Wells,” she continued, “Why were you at Mr. Archwood’s office on the fifteenth?”

“He had a piece of jewelry that I’ve been searching for.” Helena twisted the ruby ring on her left hand, “It had been in my family for years, until my brother lost it in a game of poker some time ago.”

“That doesn’t explain why you were there so late.”

“He had meetings all day, but he understood how important the ring was to me so he was courteous enough to meet with me after hours.”

There was a knock at the door and Esposito poked his head in.

“Beckett.” He said.

“What?”

“Lanie says she’s got something she wants you to see.”

 

~* ~

“Lanie, please tell me you got something to help us put this perp away.” Beckett said walking into the morgue.

“’Put this perp away’? That’s one of the oldest cliché’s in the book.” Castle began, but when Beckett shot him a look he quickly backtracked, “But you make it new again. Lanie, what do you have for us?”

“I figured out the height of the killer. In order for the knife to go in like it did he, or she, would have had to have been over 6 ft.”

“Ha!” Castle exclaimed, “I told you! I knew she couldn’t do it.”

“Oh God.” Beckett muttered putting her face in her hands. “He’s never going to let me live this down is he?”

Lanie shook her head while Castle did his own his own personalized _I got something right_ dance.

~* ~

Beckett opened the door to the interrogation room and found Helena leaning back in her chair, feet on the table, examining her nails, “You’re free to go Ms. Wells.”

“It’s about time.” Helena stood up and exited the room.

Castle watched her as she walked away and knew that there was something special about this woman.

“I’ll be right back.” He told Esposito before racing after her. “Hey!”

Helena turned around, “Yes Mr. Castle?”

“I was wondering if you had plans for tonight.”

“Why do you ask? Are you trying to find something else to try and charge me with?”

“Oh no— no—“Castle paused for a second, “Wait. That was a joke wasn’t it?”

“Yes it was,” Helena laughed, “And to answer your question, no I have no real plans for tonight.”

“Well then. How would you feel about going to dinner?”

“With you?”

“With me.”

“I think it could be fun.”

“Good.” Castle smiled, “I’ll pick you up at 8?”

“8 it is.”

 

~*~

That afternoon Castle walked into the apartment with a new haircut and carrying a couple new suits.

“Well don’t you look sharp,” Martha said, “What’s the occasion?”

“I have a date tonight.”

“Really?”

“Don’t sound so surprised.”

“Don’t sound surprised about what?” Alexis asked walking into the room.

“Your old man has a date tonight.”

Alexis clapped her hands together, “That’s great dad!”

“Well tell us about her.” Martha turned in her chair to give her son her full attention.

“Her name is Helena and I met her today at the precinct.”

“At the station?” Martha raised her eyebrows, “Does she work there?”

“No. She was a suspect in the case that we’re working on.”

It was Alexis’ turn to raise an eyebrow, “You have a date with the suspect?”

“No.” Castle shook his head, “She was a suspect. But she’s not a suspect anymore.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Mother.”

“I want to meet her.” Martha crossed her arms. “Before you go out I want to meet her.”

“Me too.” Alexis mimicked her grandmother’s actions.

“No. No. No, no, no.”

“Why?”

“Because the two of you are the two of you and you’ll find something about her to not like.”

“When have we done that?” Martha asked.

“Just over the summer! Mother do you remember Donna Mitchell, you met her and pointed out that she said ‘really’ more times then was need and suddenly it was all I could notice.”

“We won’t this time. We’ll keep our opinions to ourselves.”

“So I can spend the whole time trying to figure out what you don’t like about her?”

“It sounds like you’re ashamed of us,” Alexis pointed out.

“Your daughter brings up a good point.”

“Now don’t do that.” Castle sighed, “I’m not ashamed of you. You’re my girls.”

“Then let us meet her.”

“There is no way I’m going to win here is there?” They both shook their heads, “Okay, if I like her, and can’t find anything wrong with her, I’ll bring her by. But it’ll be for just a quick ‘hey how’s it going’ and then you’re gone. No spending a lot of time talking to her, no pointing out her flaws. None of that. Are we clear?”

They both nodded their heads in agreement.

 

~* ~

The date went well. They spent the night talking about the classics like Poe, Dickens, and when they got on the subject of H.G. Wells Helena’s whole face lit up. Castle couldn’t help but think about how nice it was to find a woman who knew as much about literature as he did.

“H.G. Wells is on my list of people, living or dead, that I’d like to have dinner with.”

“Is he really?’

“He is,” Castle finished off his glass of wine, “Which is why I spent almost every cent I made from my first book to but a first edition of The Time Machine.”

“You didn’t.” Helena gasped.

“It’s even signed.”

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not.” Castle paused, “You could come to my place and see it if you wanted.”

“You’re place?” Castle nodded his head. “Well, what are we waiting for?”

 

~* ~

From the moment she walked into the apartment Martha and Alexis couldn’t take their eyes off of Helena.

“So that’s her.” Castle said as he dragged his mother and daughter into the kitchen, “ She’s met you and you can see I’m not ashamed. Are you happy?”

“She’s really pretty dad.” Alexis said looking past her father.

“Alexis, you say that like you’re surprised I could get a date with someone attractive.”

Alexis shrugged and it was Martha’s turn to compliment the woman, “Just listen to that accent! It would be perfect for my next role. Do you think you could get her to talk to me about it?”

“Mother!”

“What?”

“But dad, she’s really pretty. Are you sure she’s not some kind of black widow or something?”

“Okay, you know what? I said I’d let you see her and I did so I’m going to go show her my study and you two are going to disappear. Alright?”

“Okay.” The two sighed.

“Goodnight Alexis.”

“Night dad.” Alexis stood on her tiptoes and gave her dad a kiss on the cheek and then whispered, “Remember that the praying mantis rips off her mate’s head after they have sex.”

“She’s not evil!”

“Well I’m glad someone thinks so.” Helena laughed appearing behind the group, “Now I believe there was talk about a first edition?”

Castle held out his hand, “Right this way.”

~*~

“This is it,” Castle said dropping his keys on his desk. “This is where the hard work happens.”

“Hard work?” Helena asked picking up a copy of Mad Magazine from the bookshelf.

“Well you know what they say about all work and no play.”

Helena continued browsing the book shelf, “Your daughter’s sweet.”

“Yeah, she’s a good kid. What about you, do you have any kids?”

Helena stopped looking and just stood there for a moment before telling him, “Christina. She would have been twelve.”

“Oh.” Castle walked up beside her, “I’m sorry. What happened? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Murder.”

“Did they find who did it?”

“They did, and they were punished.” Helena turned around tears in her eyes, “So where’s that book?”

“It’s right here.” Castle walked back over to his desk and picked up a leathery dust covered book.

“Oh would you look at it,” Helena gasped running her hands over the cover, “And you said there was an inscription?”

“Yes,” Castle opened the book as carefully as possible.

“To my dearest sister.” Helena whispered, her voice quivering.

“It’s really amazing isn’t it? Like holding history in your hand.”

“You have no idea.”

~* ~

The next morning Castle went into his study to retrieve his keys, when he noticed an item missing.

“Son of a bitch!” he exclaimed as he came bolting out of the study,

“What?” Alexis asked looking up from her cheerios.

“She stole my book.”

 

~* ~

When Helena returned to her hotel room shortly before noon Castle was waiting for her.

“You’re not a very good thief.” He said.

“My lord,” Helena gasped, “What are you doing here?”

“You stole my book!”

“It was my book first.”

“What are you talking about?”

“My dearest sister,” Helena began to recite the message at the front of the book, “I would have been able to do none of this if it were not for you. I am forever at your debt. Your loving brother, Charles.”

“So? All you’ve shown me is that you can memorize. Not very well, mind you, since you can’t even get the name right.”

“Check it if you don’t believe me.” Helena pulled the book out of her bag and tossed it over.

“Holy!” He exclaimed trying to catch it as carefully as possible. “Will you not throw things? Especially things that are this old and expensive. Who raised you, animals?”

“Read.”

Castle rolled his eyes and began to read, “’My dearest sister, blah, blah, blah. None of this if it weren’t for you, yada, yada, yada. Your loving brother.’ It says nothing about a Charles.”

“Look closer.” Helena walked to Castle and leaned over his shoulder her breath tickling the back of his neck, “See there?” she pointed to a patch of smeared ink at the end.

“It’s just ink.”

“My brother wrote with his left hand, we never could figure out why since he did everything else with his right. And whenever he wrote he would try so hard to make sure he never smeared the ink. But he always ended up smearing it. Look closer.”

“It might be a Ch—maybe. And that could be an S at the end. But this still doesn’t what you mean by ‘it’s my book’”

“I’m H.G. Wells.”

“You’re H.G. Wells? You wrote this book?” he scoffed.

“I came up with the stories, but my brother Charles was the one who wrote them down.”

“Right.” Castle rolled his eyes, “So you’re a crazy lady. Great.”

“Don’t believe me. I understand, and I’m sure that if the roles were reversed I would find it crazy as well. But I’m telling you the truth.”

“Then prove it.”

Helena opened her mouth to say something but suddenly Castle’s phone began to ring. “Hello? Ok, I’m on my way.”

“Should I be expecting a visit from the police later?” Helena asked as he hung up.

“Why? You’re going to be gone as soon as I leave anyway. ”

Helena walked over to Castle and ran a hand over his cheek before moving in and kissing him

~* ~

When Castle exited the elevator Ryan and Esposito were waiting for him.

“You’re late man.” Ryan whispered.

“I know, there was something I had to take care of. And why are you whispering?”

“There are two agents from the Secret Service here.”

“Why?”

“Dunno man.” Esposito shrugged. “But they’ve been in with Beckett and the Chief for a while.”

“Man, this day keeps getting better and better.” Castle groaned as he walked to Montgomery’s office.

He knocked twice before he was met with a gruff, “Come in.”

As entered the Chief’s office he saw the two agents, one male and one female, that Ryan had mentioned.

“So what’s going on?”

“I’m Agent Myka Bering,” The female agent said standing up, “this is my partner Agent Pete Ladamer, we’re with the---“

“Secret service. Yeah, Esposito and Ryan filled me in.”

“They’re here about your girlfriend.” Beckett told him.

“I’d hardly call her my girlfriend.”

“We think she might have stolen something very important from Mr. Ashwood’s office.” Pete told him

“She’s probably stashed it by now, but we think if anyone knows where it could be it would be you.”

“I don’t—“ Castle slipped a hand in his coat pocket and found an unfamiliar item in there.

“What the?” he asked himself as he pulled it out.

It was Helena’s ruby ring. And something inside of Castle told him that this was what the agents were looking for. It had to be.

“You I think I might know something. But I’d like to speak with the agents about it alone.”

Beckett sighed, “Castle we don’t have time for this.”

“It’s alright. We’ll humor him.” Myka said.

When the Chief and Beckett left the room he held out the Ring, “This is what you’re looking for is it not?”

“Helena gave it to you?” Pete asked, “Why?”

“She slipped it in my pocket. I think she wanted you to have it. I don’t know why it’s so important for the secret service to have a ring, but I’ll give it to you under one condition.“

“What is it?” Myka asked.

“Just answer a simple question. Helena, is she H.G. Wells the author?”

Castle wished he was recording that moment because the looks on the two agent’s faces was priceless. And it told him everything he needed to know. Last night he lived out his childhood dream and he never even knew it. It was a shame really, there were so many things that he’d like to ask her, so many things he’d like to know and now he blew it. He blew his chance to really get to know one of the most brilliant authors of the past 100 years, maybe even of all time, and it was his fault.

“That’s restricted Mr. Castle. Do you understand?” Myka asked.

“I do. Thank you.”

 

**-END-**


End file.
